Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

by Mark Twain

Book Overview

Life on the Mississippi (1883) is a memoir by Mark Twain of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, and also a travel book, recounting his trip along the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140390502
• Release Date: February 1985
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Mark Twain's Finest Writing

I read this recently after having kept a copy around for years; I now wish I had read it years ago. It is witty, observant, and a wonderful slice of American history; thenow-vanished steamboat culture comes alive like nowhereelse. However, the best part is the contrast between the author's confident early youthful years and the much later, postwar years of bittersweet reminiscence and regret for what has passed, never to return. A wonderful book - I simply cannot praise it highly enough.

One of Twain?s Greatest!

This book--at times disjointed, rambling, self-referential, and irreverent--is decades ahead of its time. It's an interdisciplinarian's dream as Twain takes on economics, geography, politics, ancient and contemporary history, and folklore with equal ease. Mostly though, one appreciates his knack for exaggeration, the tall tale, and the outright lie. It's a triumph of tone, as he lets you in on his wild wit, his keen observation, and his penchant for bending the truth without losing his credibility as a guide.The book's structure is also modern: He recounts his days as a paddlewheel steam boat "cub," piloting the hundreds of miles of the Mississippi before the Civil War, then, in Part 2, returns to retrace his paddleboat route. Although a few of his many digressions don't work (they sometimes sound formulaic or too detailed) most of the narrative is extremely entertaining. Twain seems caught between admiration and disdain for the "modern" age-but he also rejects over-sentimentality over the past. He writes with beauty and cynicism, verve and humor. Very highly recommended!

A compelling monologue of biography, geography and history

Let me guess: your total exposure to Mark Twain came in high school, when you were forced to read about the antics of Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer, right? Well, now that you've reached adulthood, you should make time to read _Life on the Mississippi_. It's mandatory reading if you live in a state that borders the great river, anywhere from Minnesota down to Louisiana. It's mandatory reading if you have come to that point in life when you can suddenly appreciate American history and post-Civil War stories written by someone who lived through that time. Writing in the first half of the 1870s, Twain retraces the steps of his youth: the watery highway he knew when he trained to be a riverboat pilot nearly 20 years earlier. He speaks of how life _was_ along the river, and what life _became_. It's almost a "you can't go home again" experience for him, while the reader gets the benefit of discovering both time periods. I have two favorite parts that I share with others. Chapter IX includes a wonderful dissertation about how learning the navigational intricacies of the river caused Twain to lose the ability to see its natural beauty. And Chapter XLV includes an assessment of how the people of the North and the South reacted differently to the war experience. If I were a social studies teacher, I'd use that last passage in a unit on the reconstruction period. So put this title on your vacation reading list, and don't fret: the chapters are short and are many -- 60! -- but you can stop at any time, and the words go by fast. _Life on the Mississippi_ should make you forget all about any Twain trauma and report-writing you may have suffered as a teenager. [This reviewer was an Illinois resident when these comments were written.]

High adventure and edge of your seat suspense...

I find that Mr. Stevenson is a very talented writer because his story was described excellently and the suspense seemed very real.Kidnapped is the story of a young man's adventures. This particular young man was named David Balfour. After his parents passed away David set off in search of his rich uncle, to find himself a new home. Little did he know that on his arrival that his uncle would try to chase him away with a gun, and would be the most miserly person David had ever met. For fear of having to feed David, the uncle had him kidnapped aboard a ship that would take him to America to work on the plantations. Due to an unexpected change in the weather, however, the ship was wrecked on the coast of Scotland, and there the adventure began.On the back of the novel it says that this book has been enjoyed by generations and shall be enjoyed for generations to come. When I chose to read this novel I wasn't sure if that statement would be true. I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the story, I found it to be well written and exciting. I looked forward to the end because I was curious to see what would happen. I'd say any book that is good enough to be deemed a classic has an importance all it's own. I have not read many classics but I find this book important because it holds a lot of information pertaining to the history and culture of Scotland and it's people. In other words, this is a great story, read it!

On "Kidnapped"

"Kidnapped" is the second of Stevenson's two most famous adventure novels, the other being "Treasure Island." The novel is not only a marvelous tale of adventure, friendship and suspense, but is also an exploration of the eighteenth-century Scottish culture. Through brilliant use of dialect and faithful imitation of the Scottish Highlanders, Stevenson conveys to us the life of the Highland rogue during that period. Also, the book can be viewed as a story of a sixteen-year-old's passage to manhood, achieved through risk-taking, friendships and bravery. An essential read.